I cannot imagine that SCUBA diving would ever stop to excite me, as each dive, even on the same location, is a completely different experience. But my 18^th dive was a morning dive. I admit that upon waking at 07h00 in the morning, my first thought is not, “Hey, let’s get wet and go diving”, I wake up slowly. Even after my bus ride to the centre, I was still waking up.

 But here’s the thing, when you’re a novice diver, small things excite you! Once I got there and we were gearing up, I was given my own torch.  Just like the dive computer excited me, this was new equipment and the prospect of forgetting about buoyancy and other diving skills, but taking a torch, switching it on and to start peering into holes in and underneath rocks excited me.

Back on Anemone Garden we had a good dive brief, discussing how the gradient of the reef would take us shallower and make a traditional safety stop unnecessary as long as we did that part slowly. We were warned about finding a light current soon after starting our descent. So we back-roll entered and after checking on everyone, started the descent. Then there it was!

The current caught me and I was flying past the dive leader at my fastest underwater speed to date. All I was thinking was, “this must be what drift diving feels like”, which apparently it does! The current dropped us and we continued our reef dive. There was much to see and my flashlight was a fun toy to have and made me hover at certain spots longer than I would have without it. I was exploring and rewarded more than I could have imagined.

I found my very first Nudibranch! In the past they were pointed out to me, because they are such tiny little sea slugs. There it was in its black mantle skirt, stylishly decorated in green and orange. I could not stop watching how the movement of the water waved its horn like rhinophores, giving the little one an almost animated communicative look. I was falling behind and had to move on.

There were the smallest Domino baby fish I have ever seen, probably 1cm long. I so enjoyed watching them vanish and reappear as the anemone tentacles waved and, there was one clownfish sharing the anemone with them and he was eyeing me. They are very territorial and protective over their chosen anemones and have the most enthralling symbiotic relationships.

I was very satisfied when I saw my beloved Moorish Idol fish, who got its name from the Moors who believed that this beauty was a bringer of happiness.  With its beak like mouth, long dramatically extended dorsal fin and contrasting bands in black, white and yellow the Moors were absolutely right. Although their coloured bands make it impossible to miss them, a quick glance from an unexperienced eye can easily confuse the coachman, also known as the reef banner fish, for a Moorish Idol. I was fortunate to see both species.    

We were even graced by the presence of a single Emperor Angelfish! There were many Lionfish, Goatfish and schools of Catfish. I saw both the yellow and the white spotted boxfish. They are small spotted fish and their boxed shape immediately turned them into Disney characters when I first saw them. A fragile baby pipefish was also part of the find and I am unable to erase this silvery white fragility from my mind’s eye.

There were octopuses in their hideouts and ball sponges by the dozen. I also saw my darling Tigris Cowrie, forever reminding me of my granny darning socks over the shell she had. But the most dramatic and unforgettable of this dive will always be the most unlikely buddies. We saw several Moray eels, but this one was not hiding or shy. It came out from under a rock, white, long and elegant, approaching our dive leader who was holding his hand palm up. The eel crossed his palm more than once. While enthralled by this dance in front of us, an adult Trumpet fish shining silver as if dressed for a ball, joined the eel as it started slinking away. The trumpet fish was softly rubbing up against the eel and the two slowly swam away from us, side by side, like a couple leaving the dance floor.

When it was time for us to make our ascent, I surfaced with a longing to go back down. How I wish I was a mermaid!

By Lynette Gerber-Lochenkov

June 2023